Lukashenka: Belarus should start building aircraft, helicopters

Belarus should start manufacturing aircraft instead of simply modernizing and repairing aircraft, the Belarusian president said while visiting 558th Aircraft Repair Works in Baranavichy, Brest region.

Aliaksandr Lukashenka suggested that the facilities of Orsha Aircraft Repair Works could be used to manufacture helicopters.

It would be easy to build helicopters in Orsha if Ukraine’s Motor Sich, which owns Orsha Aircraft Repair Works, supplied the plant with engines, he said. As for the two or three complex pieces of equipment necessary for such a project, Belarus might be able to purchase them abroad instead of having to build them on its own, he said.

Mr Lukashenka said that Belarus should cooperate with other countries, such as Russia, to build planes. The aircraft should be attractive to customers in foreign markets, above all, Russia, he said.

According to the head of state, Belarus does not have the necessary funds or experts to develop its own civil or military planes. At the same time, not everyone can afford new planes and helicopters, which is why aircraft maintenance and modernization remains an important service, he added.